


Search and Rescue

by MalleusRhodus



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:08:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24952792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalleusRhodus/pseuds/MalleusRhodus
Summary: Hospitalized after the failed recovery mission to save Sasuke, Naruto goes missing. The others are out to find him. Kiba is first to find him, but Naruto is damaged. Kiba hopes to fix that.
Relationships: Inuzuka Kiba & Uzumaki Naruto
Kudos: 4





	Search and Rescue

**Author's Note:**

> A very old piece of mine!

The rain was starting to come down in a mist, the tree tops turning a white-ish color, preparing for the initial downpour that the dark skies promised would come. Most of the residents in Konoha village were smart enough to stay indoors during the storm, only a few still wandered about outside.

One in particular had a mission. He had searched Konoha, all of the usual places at least. The ramen shop, Sakura's house, the small avenues and streets, and of course the academy, but what he was looking for wasn’t there.

Kiba Inuzuka was running all around the Hidden Leaf village, looking for its number one knucklehead ninja.

"Naruto! Naruto!" he yelled with every new leap off a rooftop. He had been searching for an hour so far, the mist clinging to his fur coat, soaking his clothes underneath.

It hadn’t been that long since the Inuzuka learned that Naruto was missing. On one of his many visits to the blonde’s hospital room.

Naruto was supposed to be in the infirmary in the Konoha hospital, tending to his injures he received from his previous skirmish with his so-called friend Sasuke. Personally, Kiba didn't like the Uchiha, not in the least. And he especially didn't like him now that he hurt Naruto.

Regardless of his grudge on Sasuke, he wasn't focused on finding that boy. He could care less if that jerk ever came back. But, it mattered to Naruto, and that was enough for him, Shikamaru, Neji and Chouji to help him.

"Naruto, if you're out there, please answer me!" Kiba pleaded, leaving the search in the city to Shikamaru and Neji. He chose to search the surrounding forest area instead. He figured that he and Naruto were more alike than not. Kiba would want the privacy of the forest if he was ever down, so he figured that Naruto would do the same.

'Come on, where are you Naruto?' he thought rushed as he passed several large oak trees, leaving his other companion far behind him. He had to slow his pace several times when he heard the yip of his canine friend behind him, telling him to slow down. "Come on Akamaru, what if he's hurt? Hurry it up!" he yelled back at the little pup. The two searched a great deal of the forest which was starting to sway back and forth in a violent wind.

"What if we don't find him here?" Akamaru barked at his master. "Then we don't go home until we _do_." Kiba yelled back, a cruel wind whipping in his ears. The wind and the rain made it exceedingly difficult for the brunette to pinpoint any sort of distinguishable scent in the air.

Akamaru struggled to keep pace with his master, rarely managing to come side by side with him. But when he did, he couldn't help but see small drops of water stream down his face.

'Is he crying, or is that just the rain?' the pup wondered. He wouldn't be surprised if Kiba was crying. He cared a great deal for Naruto, how much he didn't really know. His master always kept to himself whenever he was approached about the subject, but a small blush always crossed his cheeks.

"Come on Akamaru, I'm gonna kick it up a notch. Jump into my coat." He demanded and the dog quickly obeyed. As soon as Akamaru was secure, the brunette pushed more of his chakra into his feet, using more propulsion in every jump.

"Don't use a lot, you'll wear yourself out faster." Akamaru warned. "Don't worry about me, we have to find Naruto." Kiba retorted.

It had been another good half hour of searching before the two decided to turn back.

'There's no way he came out this far with the injuries he has.' Kiba thought, at least a little reprieved. At least he had a better chance of finding his favored blonde if he just performed a radius scan of the area around him from where he stopped. Again, the duo traveled through the treetops, the brunette screaming the name of Naruto into the ever-increasing force of the rain.

The sky was growing impatient and needed to release its load soon, which would spell disaster for the still searching brunette. His search carried all around the perimeter of Konoha, never stopping for an instant to rest.

That in turn began to wear him down. The exhaustion of his chakra was beginning to slow the teen down. He had used most of his energy, and his own injuries that were inflicted on him during his search for Sasuke didn't help matters either.

"You're tired, you can't go any further. Let's go back to the hospital, maybe someone found him by now." Akamaru suggested, but he knew better than expect his master to take the hint. A gut feeling still forced Kiba to look further. He wasn't so sure that Naruto was found yet.

Just as the rain was beginning to pour down in waves, the brunette now soaked started heading back to the village.

"NARUTO! WHERE ARE YOU?" he shouted with all his might against the gale, hoping that his blonde would answer him.

He was ready, after two hours of searching without end or rest, to return to the village, at least until the rain stopped.

"Kiba…I'm sorry we couldn't find him." Akamaru tried to console. Kiba seemed distant to the pup's remark and shrugged it off. "If only I was stronger…If only I could catch the smallest scent…anything…" he accused. "It's not your fault, don't beat yourself up. We'll find him. If not, then he'll find us." The pup retorted.

"But what if he's hurt? What if he's alone and scared right now?" a fleeting image of the injured ninja curled up against a tree with blood flowing from his still fresh wounds.

"I can't rest yet. Not until I find…huh?" a sudden flash of gold in the thicket of forest canopy caught his eye.

There, on the limb of a tree, covered by the rich umbrella of foliage overhead, stood the object of the brunette’s chase.

"Naruto!" Kiba gasped. The canine-nin immediately dropped to the branches beneath him and ran to embrace the idiot.

The soaking brunette eagerly ran up to the just as wet Naruto, and came with a few steps when he felt something was amiss, and had to stop.

Naruto stood there without even the smallest reaction to the brunette's presence.

"Naruto?" Kiba asked, taking hesitant steps closer to him. The blonde boy didn't respond to him. Naruto was staring out of the canopy that hid him from his friends, the view of the entire village of Konoha captured where he stood.

Kiba followed the smaller boy's gaze and then quickly returned to him. Every step Kiba took towards the boy, his heart began to beat faster. He was within arm's distance of the boy when Naruto finally acknowledged that Kiba was there.

Naruto turned his head slowly, revealing dark circles under his eyes and depressing frown over his delicate features. Odd that Kiba often thought of the blonde as delicate. In truth, he was the strongest of all of them in Konoha. But Kiba could see him for something else, something that Kiba admired and oftentimes wanted himself.

An innocence that could not be described in words. His playful smile could light the brunette's day up in an instant and his sometimes rambunctious attitude likewise sometimes got the brunette in trouble, but always had fun with him.

In Kiba's eyes, Naruto was more than the warrior that no one ever seemed to acknowledge. He was sweet and…in pain. He was lonely, Kiba could tell. It was a problem that the brunette had been preparing to fix for some time but never gathered enough to courage to do so.

Naruto stood facing Kiba, his legendary orange jacket not on his being. All he wore now was his orange pants and black t-shirt which still bore tears from his last skirmish with Sasuke.

"Kiba…?" Naruto finally spoke, pulling the brunette's attention away from his blonde's physique. "…why are you here?" he finally asked.

"What? What do you mean why? I'm here to take you back to the village. I…we've been worried sick about you. Why did you leave the hospital?" Kiba wanted to know, but secretly just wanted the blonde to come into his arms so he could take him back.

"I'm leaving." Naruto said flatly. Kiba stopped moving, his heart stilled for the shortest of moments. "What? Why?" Kiba inquired, his voice worn from the yelling he did earlier.

"I've got to find Sasuke. I know he's still out there." Naruto struggled against the fatigue of his body, an issue that was immediately noticed by his friend.

"Come on, Naruto. Just come back with me." Kiba offered instead, opening his arms to invite Naruto to him.

"Why? I thought you guys would be happy." The blonde snapped.

"What? How can you say that?" Kiba started to argue, Akamaru jumped out of his hiding place in his master's coat, shaking off the water in his fur.

"At least you won't have to worry about some fox demon tearing up Konoha. The farther away I am from you guys the better." Naruto finally confessed. It had been festering inside of him for some time. He did suspect that the people of the Hidden Leaf Village would never accept him as Hokage because of a birth rite he never asked for. It built up in the back of his mind, and now manifested since he had nothing else to lose.

"Is that what you really think? I can't believe that. Do you really think we want you to leave?" Kiba tried to insist he at least look at him. “Come on. Come back with me. You’re still injured. Please…” he almost started to beg.

Naruto did not even bother to answer. He attempted to jump off the tree limb and out of sight. Kiba recognized his intent early and jumped with a speed that frightened even his tiny companion and pinned Naruto against the hulking trunk of the tree.

"Ow! Kiba let me go!" Naruto shrieked, Kiba pushed his shoulders against the tree forcefully. Naruto wrestled his friend, his arms immediately grabbing the taller boy's soaked coat and pushing away.

“No! I’m not letting you leave me!”

"Stop it Kiba! Just let me go!" the blonde snapped again.

"I said no! You’re not leaving, stupid! I’m taking you back."

Naruto struggled. He couldn’t shake the brunette who insisted he stay.

"I thought I lost you. Do you know…" Kiba started, his hands slowly curling around the blonde's shivering shoulders. "…what that would do to me?" Kiba started to understand that words would not reach the blonde. He felt the fight start to leave the other boy. Once he was calm, Kiba gathered the other’s cold hands into his.

"Stop thinking that nobody cares." Kiba whispered, leaning in for a quick kiss over Naruto’s cheek. "I do." He pulled away only for an instant. Kiba then lowered his lips over his blonde’s in a chaste kiss.

Naruto froze in the contact. Since he didn’t try to push the Inuzuka away, Kiba pushed in harder. The simple kiss now becoming one of an unspoken passion.

Kiba released Naruto, stealing his words from him. Naruto just stared at the Inuzuka teen, trying to decipher the feelings inside him. Everything that had just happened went spinning around his mind. Why Kiba had been searching for him, the small confession he shared with him, and the intimate press he gave him. 

He didn’t have much time to think about it. The blonde shuddered as the cruel wind crept up his wet body. Kiba wasted no time opening his large coat and eagerly swooping Naruto into its protective embrace.

Naruto was firmly pressed against the other’s skin, feeling the heat start to flow over him.

“Kiba…you’re such an idiot.” Naruto smiled against the other’s chest, reveling in this new sensation that the brunette gave him.

“Shut up.” Kiba rested his chin against the other now that they were entwined together. He snaked his arms around the blonde's waist, pulling him back into his body.

The brunette innocently laid his head in the crick of Naruto's neck, quietly breathing him in, making up for the lost time he spent just watching his blonde from afar.

A sudden icy shock ran up the brunette’s body, yanking him out of his stupor. Naruto hesitantly snaked his arms around Kiba's waist to gather more warmth.

Naruto nuzzled deeper into his friend, tears falling over the boy's chest. The blonde's legs were beginning to falter, but Kiba held to him tightly.

“Thank you Kiba. But I have to…”

“Come home.”

“Huh?”

“Come home with me.” Kiba begged again, dancing just along the edge of a deeper confession.

Naruto refused to meet the stare of his protector, mulling over the situation he was in, what Kiba had risked to search for him, and what he knew he still had to do.

“Just tonight. Come back with me. Stay with me, just for tonight.” The brunette had to make any offer to convince his hero to stay.

“Okay.” He offered the first dazzling smile Kiba had seen in days.

No sooner had Naruto agreed, the downpour began, swallowing the whole of forest in a resounding deluge.

"We should stay here until it stops raining." Kiba suggested with a grin. Naruto gazed up from the shoulder that acted as his pillow and smiled before nuzzling back into Kiba.

"Sounds good…" Naruto whispered as he placed a very appreciative kiss over Kiba's cheek. The brunette moved slightly, to meet Naruto face to face, only to close the small space between them with another warm kiss.

TBC…


End file.
